In a time when alternatives to state money for higher education funding become increasingly important, a university’s alumni could become valuable resources.

According to a recent university report, nearly 10,000 NIU alumni contributed $459,564 to NIU during fiscal year 1988.

Bob Brown, director of special giving in NIU’s Development and Alumni Relations Office, said the number of NIU alumni donors rose more than 10 percent over the previous fiscal year.

According to the June 1988 report of the Council for Aid to Education, 11.6 percent of NIU’s alumni now contribute annually to the university compared to 10.8 percent for Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and 8.8 percent for the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. It is the highest level achieved by NIU in recent years, according to university data. NIU is ranked second in this category for public universities, behind Eastern Illinois University with 17.1 percent.

“The percentage of alumni we have participating is rather high compared to some other schools. We’re really proud of that,” said Richard Boardman, President of NIU’s Alumni Association board of directors.

Judy Riggs, director of development for U of I, said, “It’s something we’re working on. We would really like to have a higher percentage (of alumni participation).”

Despite its low participation percentage, U of I alumni contributed more than $36 million to that university last year. SIU officials could not estimate the amount of alumni contributions brought in last year but did say a total of almost $4.5 million was contributed by alumni and private organizations through their alumni organization and the SIU Foundation.

Donations from NIU alumni and private organizations made through the Alumni Association and the NIU Foundation totaled close to $3 million.

Richard Margison, vice president of business and finance for U of I, said although the U of I association received $36 million in alumni contributions, it only expects $3.8 million annually. Any other money above that amount is considered a “once in a lifetime” donation, or an unexpected, fluctuating gift total.

NIU’s alumni on record now total almost 114,000, ranking it third behind U of I with about 300,000 and SIU with 130,000. “We are in contact with an excess of 85,000 (alumni). Of that 85,000, we are in touch with about 10,000 active members,” said Susan Lund, director of alumni programs for NIU.

NIU’s association, like similar organizations throughout the state, operates apart from the university.

“We are a separate entity, separate from the university and operate on a contractual basis with the university,” Lund said.

However, unlike U of I’s and SIU’s organizations, NIU’s association does not charge dues for membership. Rather, it relies solely upon the money donated throughout the year to support its operating budget, while U of I and SIU are funded through their dues programs.

Thursday: Fundraising techniques and methods employed by university alumni associations.